BHOPAL: A tigress was found dead inside Bandhavgarh tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district on Sunday evening, taking the death toll to six in less than two weeks and 15th death in four months - which includes six in April.
Carcass of this tigress was spotted by a patrolling team near Dhamokhar buffer area at compartment number 126.
They informed the matter to senior officers including the field director. Officers informed that there were multiple injury marks on its body – at skull, abdomen, limbs and ears. They suspect that the tigress was killed by an adult male over territorial supremacy. Samples were preserved after autopsy and the body was disposed of as per NTCA protocols. The tigress was around eight to nine months old.
Insiders say that 11 tigers have died within the tiger reserves, while four were reported dead outside the area including a road mishap.
National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) reports claim three tiger deaths in Pench Tiger Reserve, two in Bandhavgarh, two in Sanjay Tiger Reserve, one at Kanha Tiger Reserve and one in Satpura Tiger Reserve. Remaining were reported outside the protected areas.
On March 31, a tiger was found dead on a highway in Seoni district. Officers came to know about it after photos and a video of the tiger dead on the Nagpur highway near Batvani village went viral on social media. They later shifted the carcass to Pench National Park where an autopsy will be performed. It was hit by a speeding vehicle leading to death, officers say .
